Iowa Republican To Replace Shaheen

Former Congressman Jim Leach, a 15-term Iowa Republican, will serve as the next director of the Institute of Politics, the center announced today.

Leach, a leading moderate Republican who opposed the war in Iraq, was defeated for reelection in 2006 by a professor of political science at Cornell College, one of the biggest surprises of the cycle in which Republicans lost 31 seats in the House. Since his loss last year, Leach has served as a visiting professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton.

"The Institute of Politics is an engaging and dynamic place, and I am eager to begin working closely with students and staff, faculty, and fellows to energize young people to embrace the challenges and opportunities of politics and public service," Leach said in a statement today.

Leach will succeed Jeanne Shaheen, who resigned Friday to run for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire.

—Staff writer Paras D. Bhayani can be reached at pbhayani@fas.harvard.edu.